Review: Tropical Paradise by Free Spirits Cosmetics

Tropical Sunrise by Free Spirits

I promised I'd do a review once I found the perfect orange lipstick and now that I have, here it is!

Some background: Free Spirits Cosmetics is a new but expanding make up line created by Leandra Goodridge, a Barbadian entrepreneur who is also a make up artist.

Now to the review!

Orange Lipstick Lessons

Recently I've been very interested in orange lipstick. But I worried about how I could pull it off because I know it can be a tough colour for dark skin tones to pull off. However, I believed there must be a way. So I went hunting for tutorials on orange lipstick for dark skin tones and I found this gem by Emmy Vargas!

I just wanted to share it because it was a great help to me. I especially liked the lip liners she recc'ed. I'm definitely gonna purchase nutmeg from my local NYX store.
After I try a few orange lipsticks myself and determine for myself the best way to wear them, I'll do a post about it! Please anticipate.

Fashion and Makeup Moodboard: September edition

Lately I've been thinking about see-through stretchy tops, high waist pencil skirts, too much gold jewellery, and late 80's/early 90's hairstyles.

Makeup-wise I've been thinking a lot about pasting on thick eyeliner in crazy colours-but only on the top lid!-,wearing fuchsia lipstick, and piling on excess blush. 

Make Up Confessions

Disclaimer: cr. Hina according to Creative Commons terms of use

1. I can't pull off black lipstick but I'm forever liking pics of girls who can.

2. I dislike concealer so I usually just use more foundation on my problem areas and blend, blend, blend!

3. I'm so over matte red lipstick. I'm all about shiny fuchsia in 2014.

4. I always put on too much powder but I can't seem to help myself

5. I apply blush on my cheekbones and not the apples of my cheeks because if I put in on my cheeks it drags my face down and makes me look wayyy older.

My Make-Up Routine

Disclaimer: cr. slimmer_jimmer according to Creative Commons terms of use

So my make-up routine has changed significantly for two very particular reasons: 

Ka'Oir Lipstick Review: Sex

It's been a very long time since I did a lipstick review - I believe Mac's Ruby Woo was the last one I did back in 2010. This blog has gone through a variety of changes since then as well. Recently I've been looking at pop culture and lifestyle more so than make-up products. This blog is kind of like a revolving door to be honest. You never know who or what's going to come through.

Disclaimer: Image courtesy of kaoir.com

Anyway, to the lipstick! So I found out about the Ka'Oir brand through an upscale hair salon on my island (Algernon Edge Hairdressing) which also now sells make-up and does facials, nails, etc. I happen to know the owner of the high-class salon personally and when I went to visit him recently, he liked my afro so much he insisted that one of his girls put some make up on so he could take some photos for their facebook page. Now I'm never one to refuse a free make-over, so I was all for it.

They used some Medusa eyeshadow and some eyeliner, filled in the brows etc., but to be honest all I was really interested in was the lipstick. At first I was hesitant because it looked black in the tube and I actually told the girl flat-out that I did not want to wear black lipstick. Because trust me, I have tried to make that look work and I just don't have the face for it. She assured me it was not black. I was still worried but I let her have at it.

When I looked in the mirror I could not believe it. I was wearing dark lipstick and I actually looked good! First of all, its not black but a deep vampy red-purple. Its somehow pigmented yet sheer at the same time. It's very buildable. One coat and you can still see some pinkness of your lip shining through. Two coats and its opague. It's extremely moisturizing so its the polar opposite of my last lipstick review of Ruby Woo in that it isn't super-dry and won't flake. However, some cons are that it will stain your lips. Just tissue alone  won't get this off. You will need to use witch hazel or something even more intense like an oil or my go-to makeup remover which is Pond's cold cream (its a creamy classic!). It also tends to spread. Not past the lip line, as in the majority of the colour migrates to the limits of the lips, but then doesn't budge any further. So that you end up with a lipliner effect even though you have only used lipstick. Now I don't know about yall, but I love a lipliner effect so I was pretty happy about that. But I can see how other people would hate that the product does not stay put.

Its still pretty long-lasting in my opinion, but not as long lasting as a matte would be. But for a pearl-creme (which it was described as on the tube) I was very impressed by its endurance. I have sadly had to give up wearing matte lipsticks as my lips are naturally too dry for them, no matter how much I exfoliate, regardless of how much lip balm I apply before and no matter how much lip gloss I apply after. So I am all about cream lipsticks like KaOir's sex and also satin lipsticks like those of Mac's Pro Longwear collection.

Sex has been a great introduction to Ka'Oir's cosmetics and I'm very impressed. The deep purple/red feels very nineties to me and reminds me of Lauryn Hill. The lipliner effect reminds of Selena somehow too. But the nineties icon it reminds me the most of is Dawn from En Vogue in the "Don't Let Go" video. Her dark lipstick looks so FIERCE here!

I will forever be an En Vogue fan. En Vogue and Salt and Peppa and TLC were the females that made the 90's great.

Anyway, back to Sex! I didn't like the price of the lipstick, it was $45.80 on my island but everything is super-expensive here because of the high standard of living, shipping, etc., But in the U.S it's only like $17 so it's not so bad there.

I think back in the day when I did the Ruby Woo review I mentioned that it is super hard for me as a dark-skinned girl to find a lipstick that suited me. Quite frankly, the make-up industry decides to make make-up for black people as an after-thought and even then they tend to get it all wrong. I also recall pointing out that this is a problem which girls at the direct opposite of the spectrum: very, very pale girls also have to contend with. So now I do this odd thing where when checking out lipsticks of seeing whether it will not only suit me, but also very pale girls. Cause the ebonies and ivories are all abandoned on this make-up game so we gotta look out for each other right? Anyway, I found another review of this lipstick by a pale girl and it looks great on her too which is excellent. Here is the link: Cult Colours and Ka'Oir Lipstick


That's all for now folks!

Shallowness: Eyebrows, Ruby Woo kisses and Housekeeping

Pic compliments of Sephora's Beauty and the Blog

 

  So the fall trend according to several magazines and Sephora's beauty blog is full, thick brows. I don't think I would go as far as the model in the pic above, but I have been growing out my brows for awhile, not because I was aware of this trend, but because I'm kinda suck at doing my brows.

   So this morning I woke up with a very shallow purpose: I was determined to pluck and shape my own eyebrows. This was a bold and scary venture as previous attempts have ended badly. I have ended up with spaces in the middle of my left brow, with bleeding, and I have had to wear a cap for a week. This is all due to the fact that I am the single klutziest person on planet earth and I don't usually trust myself with sharp objects. However, I've decided to man up and try again. 

   Of course, I have not manned up as yet, and now sit here writing this post as a way to procrastinate and work myself up to actually doing it ('cos if I say I'm going to do it online, that means I have to do it, right? :).

   Another recent shallow interest of mine is red lipstick. Now usually, I'm not bold enough to try something so distinctive on my face, but Lori of hisherchigago finally managed to talk me into it, and give it a whirl.  She suggested Ruby Woo by Mac. So I traipsed into the city, stalked into the MAC cosmetics section, and confidently asked to meet this Ruby Woo...and then I saw it and nearly ran in the opposite direction. It looked so bright! The gay assistant that was helping me put his hand on his hip and said, "Girl, just try it!" I meekly went over to a mirror and applied it. 

  And it was like love, lust and life at first application. I LOVE it! In fact, I loved it so much I wore it out of the store, to the bus stop and to work. So far, I have also worn it at home, to my grandparents' house and to the grocery store. I'm trying to figure out how I get away with wearing it to the beach. I have even given a Ruby Woo kiss to my sister's hurt knee, and the next day she swore it hurt less. 

   Clearly, I'm obsessed. But you have to understand how I feel. Trust me, I've tried red lipsticks before, and most of them look horrible on my complexion. I've noticed that a problem girls at the opposite ends of the spectrum-- girls with very fair complexions and girls with very deep complexions-- seem to have trouble with is finding the right red lipstick. And I think what's so great about Ruby Woo is that it suits almost all complexions. I don't know quite how, but it does.

   The only problem I have is that it's matte and so it is very drying. In fact, it's the most drying thing I've ever put on my lips. I have to use lip balm underneath it, and sometimes a lip gloss on top of it. But it's still definitely worth it. The colour is fantastic! As it's matte it isn't glossy, so even though it's bright it doesn't look like it's too much. And I feel like a fifties spy in it. Which is, obviously, what I've always wanted to be in life.

   Anyway, I'm off to do some house cleaning (a la Ruby Woo), and I'm going to the mall later today with a very good friend.  I also have to somehow fit in my eyebrow shaping into my very busy day (see how I'm conveniently filling up my day so I can avoid doing this task? Skills.)

   Hopefully my next post will be something less shallow, but this blog is about the chronicles of the Misnomer and this is what is going on in the Misnomer's life right now. Tell me what shallow interests you have going on in your life! What porduct are you currently obsessing over? And am I the only one who sucks at doing her own brows? Oh, and I've created a twitter account specifically for this blog: www.twitter.com/themisnomer

   Cheers!!

I bought a catwoman suit.

  One of my favourite songs is Frou Frou's 'Let Go', but I've never really let go in my life. In fact, I've always stayed peacefully within the lines and did what I was supposed to do. Just keeping my real feelings and desires under wrap. I have always been the classic definition of a 'good girl'. I've always gotten good grades (including a scholarship), obeyed my parents when I could, and I just try to keep out of everyone's way.

  However, sometime this week, I forgot to care about what I'm supposed to do and about what other people think. I went into the city, bought the brightest red lipstick I could find, and later bought a leather skintight outfit that makes me look like catwoman. It was all very empowering. Plus, it was on sale.

  Of course, when I returned home, staring in horror at the faux-leather gold-zipped monstrosity I had actually purchased, I realized that maybe that wasn't the best way to let go. (No complaints about the red lipstick though. Ruby Woo by MAC is great). But it was hopefully a step towards freedom. And I'm already seeing improvements in myself. I mean, a year ago I would have been way too shy to even start my own blog, and now I've done that. And I'm definitely more assertive than I used to be. After all, I tell my hairdresser exactly what I want my hair to look like now when I go for an appointment. (Oh, that doesn't count? Darn.)

   But I've still got a long way to go in fulfilling the true meaning of 'letting go' that Imogen Heap talks about in that song. Maybe it will hurt, maybe I will end up making a few more disastrous purchases that I can't wear outside my bedroom, maybe I'll struggle some more before I become stronger, but at least I won't be such a pushover. And even if I do make some mistakes along the way, according to Frou Frou "there's beauty even in the breakdown." Which I take to mean "if I fuck up, that's ok too."

  Have you done anything that gave you a moment of empowerment? Have you made any disastrous purchases? Have you "let go" recently? If so, share! Share! :)

Public Grooming.

Today is Sunday which means I have nothing better to do than watch football, drink a couple beers, and continue my very intense addiction with fashion blogs. One of these such blogs is Sephora's,  and they recently posted an entry on the topic of public lipstick application. Now, this may seem a minor issue to some people, but fashion-obsessed as I am, I think it is one that must continue to be properly addressed. And not just lipstick, but hair-grooming, nail polish application...the works.
Let me just start off with my stance on this topic: Small actions like applying chapstick at the table or brushing your hair on the bus because you didn't have a chance to do so this morning is fine. But I draw the line at applying lipstick and powder at the dinner table in front of your date and dinner mates. I mean, there's a reason women use the excuse that they're going to the powder room and why ladies rooms exist. I feel this way because chapstick/ lipgloss is something that doesn't require a mirror, but lipstick (at least for me) is something that does. If you're one of those gals that can apply lipstick without one, go ahead, do your thing. But if you have to pull out a compact mirror, and possibly lip-liner as well to apply it properly, go to the restroom. I think it's rude because you offend your dinner partner by placing this mirror in front of your face between the two of you, halting conversation, and probably making the poor guy/ girl feel uncomfortable.
And anyway, there is probably better lighting and a bigger mirror in the restroom anyway.
Now believe it or not, I have seen people, not just brush their hair on the bus, but indulge in making elaborate hairstyles like cornrows (I kid you not), and use jumbo sized bottles of gel, hair pomade and styling foam. All at the discomfort of the person they are sitting next to. You have not lived till you are on a cramped bus and a girl is poking you in the eye with her elbow as she tries to cornrow her hair. It was bliss. Insert sarcasm wherever you feel fit.
I have also witnessed people putting on nail polish at work, taking deodorant out of their bag and applying it at their work desk, I've even heard of people clipping their toenails at work (ewww!!). And I think all of this isn't right. Surely its not too much to ask that they take a minute, rush to the restroom, do what they have to do, and leave us none the wiser?
So basically, public grooming in my opinion is a no-no, except for little things like lip gloss application or brushing-- just brushing!!-- your hair on the bus. What do you guys think? What is going too far in terms of public grooming? Where should the line be drawn?